"minnesota" news and stories

Photo: LionsTap.com

A small fry is going after a super-sized giant.

McDonald's has been sued by a Minnesota burger joint over the use of the phrase "Who's Your Patty?" Lions Tap of Eden Prairie, Minn., has filed a copyright suit in U.S. District Court over the Golden Arches' use of the phrase in conjunction with their Angus Third Pounder burger advertisements, Nation's Restaurant News reports.

Lions Tap, which has been serving up burgers since 1958, registered the phrase with the state of Minnesota four years ago, according to the court documents.

Minneapolis is my hometown. I'm currently visiting for the upcoming turkey day, and last night I dined at a very special restaurant which, year after year, wins "Best Restaurant" awards in local publications right and left.

What does "best restaurant" mean, really? There are so many variable traits a restaurant can have. Also, I have long been in love with Cafe Brenda, a gourmet vegetarian and seafood restaurant in Minneapolis' warehouse district. The mushroom pate is to die for. Or what about Ecopolitan's vegan fare, or the delightful lunch at French Meadow Bakery? What about Zelo? How could La Belle Vie be "better" than that?

Well, for one, the atmosphere is enchanting. You walk in, they sit you down, and a server approaches with menus and says "welcome to dinner." You relax. You settle in. You know you are in for a dining "experience."

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Alright. That's it.

First we hear that the USDA has recalled 143 million pounds of beef, then that the recall extends as far back as two years. Now this news: a fourth herd of cattle in Minnesota has tested positive for bovine tuberculosis. Maybe I'm just overly sensitive to bad beef now. Though it is unlikely that humans can contract tuberculosis from beef because "any animal showing these signs is withheld from the food supply. In addition, adequate cooking destroys the bacteria. Further, the milk pasteurization process at processing plants destroys any potential bacteria," still, it makes me wonder if I should just swear off red meat for a while.

I'm just going to think about that while I finish the last few bites of my steak.

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Kopi luwak, also known as civet coffee, is the most expensive coffee in the world. The name "civet coffee" comes from the fact that the coffee berries are eaten by civets, which are mongoose-like critters, in Indonesia and the coffee beans are excreted by then after digestion. The beans are then cleaned and roasted to make the coffee.

A rare brew, this coffee is not available just everywhere, but Coffee & Tea LTD in Linden Hills, Minneapolis stocks it. The shop sells the coffee for $10 per 8-ounce cup, making it one of the most expensive cups of coffee in the country, if not the single most expensive. The owner, Jim Cone, buys green beans from Indonesia and roasts them to order in a vintage 1910 coffee roaster. He compares the coffee to fine wines, noting that it "might be too much to drink everyday" and describes the coffee as "having a rich and caramel-like taste."

Interestingly, Forbes has priced Kopi luwak at $160 per pound, while Coffee & Tea LTD sells it for $420 per pound. Granted, the coffee shop roasts its own beans on site, but it still seems like there would be a cheaper way to get your hands of a pound of the coffee than to pay retail there.

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First blueberries, now this?

Apparently, taste-testing one or two grapes in the produce section before you buy them is fine. More than that, though, and it's considered stealing.

When Tameca Griffin was asked by a female police officer to stop snacking on grapes that she had not yet paid for in a St. Paul, MN Rainbow Foods store, she lashed out, chest-butted the officer, and screamed. According to reports, Griffin also punched the officer in the face, pulled out some hair, and possibly caused a concussion.

Griffin is charged with fourth degree assault.

So maybe it wasn't just because she was eating the grapes, though a police spokesperson doesn't know how many grapes Griffin had actually eaten.